The judge hearing the case of five men accused of the fatal gang-rape of a student on a Delhi bus has barred lawyers from speaking to the press on the second day of the trial.

"The court has strictly ordered us to refrain from sharing details about the case," lawyer V.K. Anand said outside the Saket district court in New Delhi, where the suspects have made their second appearance.

Rape cases are usually held behind closed doors in India and the judge has approved an extra legal measure which prevents the media from reporting on court proceedings, despite the public interest in the case.

On Thursday, after a complaint from the prosecutor that defence lawyers were not complying with the order and were sharing details with journalists waiting outside the court, the judge warned that they could be breaking the law.

"I have already passed an order. If you are not happy with the order you can challenge it in the court," Judge Yogesh Khanna said after the hearing.

Though sexual harassment is commonplace in India, the 23-year-old student's gang rape has touched a nerve, sparking protests and an outpouring of criticism about the systemic mistreatment of women in Indian society.

The woman, who was also assaulted with an iron rod, died of massive internal injuries 13 days after the December 16 attack, prompting widespread public demands for India to introduce the death penalty for rapists.

The five men face charges including murder, rape, robbery and kidnapping, with prosecutors expected to demand the death penalty. A sixth suspect, who claims he is 17, will appear before a juvenile court.

The trial is being held in a fast-track court to circumvent India's notoriously slow and clogged-up justice system. The victim's family is leading widespread calls for quick closure on the horrifying case.

A far-right political party has begun distributing thousands of knives to women in a western Indian state to help them protect themselves in the wake of the fatal gang-rape.

Shiv Sena, a party with a reputation for intimidation and unrest, began handing out the weapons to women at a function in Mumbai late on Wednesday on the birthday of the group's late founder Bal Thackeray, who died in November.

"The way you cut vegetables, cut the hand of the person who touches you the same way," local party official Ajay Chowdhary told supporters, saying women should keep the blades in their purses.

The party intends to distribute 21,000 of them across Maharashtra state, their main base, of which Mumbai is the capital.